A Chronicle of Communal Incidents in the Coastal Districts of Karnataka UPDATE - 2020 ENGINEERING COMMUNAL POLARISATION Moral Policing 1) Allegedly by Hindu Vigilantes 3.2.2020. Mangaluru. A youth from Manjeshwar had become friendly with a girl from Hassan, belonging to a different faith, on a social networking site and they decided to meet in Mangaluru today. But when they met near the KSRTC bus stand in Bejai Bajrang Dal activists pounced on them, questioned both and then handed the couple over to Barke police. The police, while interrogating the couple found that the girl had been debarred from college for shortage of attendance. She was later handed over to her brother. No case was registered as both the boy and the girl were not minors, the police clarified. – Deccan Herald , 5th . 23.2.2020. Puttur. Members of Hindutva organizations allegedly took to task eight young women and four young men at the Birumale Betta on the outskirts of Puttur this evening and handed them over to police. The young women were from Mysuru and had come to take part in a marriage at Olathadka. After the wedding they left and went to the Betta with a group of Muslim youth in a Kerala-registered vehicle. Upon hearing the news a large number of people gathered near the police station. However the issue was sorted out amicably by the police and the young women were sent back to Mysuru. – Deccan Herald , 25 th . It is learnt that all eight were students of an Engineering College at Mysuru. One of them, Umer Hussain was from Olathadka and he had invited the others to his sister’s wedding. They had arrived on the 22 nd and were due to return to Mysuru on 24 th by a 11p.m. bus. – Karavali Ale , 24 th . 4.3.2020. Mangaluru. Two students of different communities hailing from the same village and travelling daily in the same bus to their college were apprehended by members of some Hindutva groups and handed over to the police at the KSRTC bus stand in Puttur. The reason? The boy and the girl were sitting next to each other and conversing. The Hindutvavadi s accused the boy of ‘love jihad’. Later the police summoned the parents of the students to the station and the students were sent home along with them. – Deccan Herald , 5th . 8.8.2020. Puttur. Activists of Bajrang Dal noticed four Muslim youth and a Hindu girl at the Birumale Betta here and handed them over to the town police station. According to the complaint filed by the activists, the group who came in a car with Kerala state registration were having ganja and engaging in immoral activities. The matter is being investigated by the Puttur Women Police. Inspector Thimmappa Naik of town police station has stated that ‘all the five persons were from Mangaluru and they have been taken into custody. No ganja has been found.’ – Prajavani , 9th . Nazeem, Sayid and Ibrahim who had allegedly lured a minor girl to the scenic Birumale Betta were arrested and cases were registered for kidnapping and under the POCSO Act by the Puttur Women Police. Members of Bajrang Dal on finding that the minor girl was accompanied by three youth from different community, had taken them to task. Trouble was averted when the police arrived in the nick of time. No ganja was found in their possession. But the accused underwent a medical examination. A case under section 12 of POCSO Act and for kidnapping was registered against the youth, the district Superintendent of Police BM Laxmi Prasad told DH. – Deccan Herald , 10 th . CONSPIRACY AGAINST MEMBERS OF A PARTICULAR FAITH Addressing a press conference at Belthangady on 16 September, Federation of Muslim Organizations of Belthangady Taluk alleged that in the last two weeks a conspiracy was hatched to defame Muslim youth by using girls belonging to the Scheduled Castes. It said, in Suruli of Belalu village and Ninnikallu in Ujire moral police of the Sangh Parivar have carried out attacks on Muslim youth in pre-planned incidents. According to the Federation the idea seems to be to gain political dividends by engineering communal riots with the help of such incidents. The Federation informed that in its memoranda which will be submitted to the tehsildar and the police department it is also going to ask for the swift completion of the investigation into the serious charges against Rauf Musliyar Govidoor who is alleged to have made calls to Pakistan last year via satellite phone. – Vartha Bharati , 17 th . 28.10.2020. Udupi. Parents of a school girl in Perduru village lodged a complaint with the Hiriadka police station saying that their minor daughter aged 17 has gone missing and they suspect it to be the handiwork of a person belonging to another faith. The girl had gone to the college in the morning to submit an application for scholarship. When the parents tried to call her on her mobile and got a “switched off” message they were scared and went to the police station to complain. Meanwhile some Hindutva groups have given an ultimatum to the police to arrest the youth within 48 hours. – Karavali Ale , 31 st . 13.11.2020. Mangaluru. Activists of Sangh Parivar, forever on the look-out for inter-faith couples, found one at Vamanjur. A Hindu widow and a Muslim married man had developed a relationship. The activists had somehow found this out and had shifted the woman along with her two children to the cow shelter at Pajir. In a recent development the woman went missing from the shelter on November 2 and a complaint to this effect was lodged at the Konaje police station. The woman was traced and she was found to have re-joined her lover. Meanwhile the activists have alleged this to be a case of ‘love jihad’ and asked for a thorough probe into the entire affair. – Karavali Ale , 14th . 17.11.2020. Puttur. On getting a tip-off from one of their spies, activists of Sangh Parivar accompanied by the police, rushed to a café near the Aruna Theater where a birthday party was going on. On finding that one of the girls attending the party belonged to a different faith the activists started berating the group. The police interfered, took the group into custody and later sent them home along with their parents. – Karavali Ale , 18 th . 25.12.2020. Bantwal. It is learnt that a group of young men attacked a male student at the KSRTC bus terminus at B.C.Road just for talking to a female student of a different faith. The boy and girl from Belthangady had travelled separately to B.C. Road and had just happened to meet at the bus terminus. Since they knew each other they started talking. Noticing this, a vigilante group rushed to the bus terminus and severely assaulted the boy. Later the police took the victims to the station and called up their parents. When the girl’s mother told them that her daughter was acquainted with the boy, the police took an undertaking and sent both of them home. – Karavali Ale , 26 th . Allegedly by the police 14.6.2020. Udupi. A young girl from Malpe studying in college fell in love with Azar, the driver of the bus she used to travel in every day. Both planned to go to Shimoga and get married but were apprehended midway by the police who took them into custody and brought them to the Malpe police station. Since the girl said she wanted to go home, her parents were called and she was sent with them. – Karavali Ale , 15 th . ^^^^^^ ‘Religious Vigilantism’ Allegedly by Hindu Vigilantes 1.9.2020. Vittal. Based on a complaint of ‘religious conversion’ lodged by activists of the Sangh Parivar, the Vittal police went to Kepulagudda at Kanyana and took a Christian youth and two Hindu girls into custody and questioned them. As the girls did not complain about any attempt to convert them, the issue has been resolved. – Prajavani , 2nd . ^^^^^^ Cattle Vigilantism Allegedly by Hindu Vigilantes 6.3.2020. Karkal. Members of Hindutva organizations accompanied by locals and police raided a house belonging to Ulahannan at Shirlalu Padibettu and found him slaughtering a bullock said to belong to Upendra Acharya of the same village. While Ulahannan managed to escape the knives and other equipment lying there were taken into custody. A case has been registered at the Ajekar police station. – Karavali Ale , 8th . 11.5.2020. Mulky. Policemen raided an illegal abattoir near Punaruru in the early hours today and rescued a total of 18 heads of cattle. The cattle had been brought in a tempo from Mangaluru and members of an Hindutva organization from Mangaluru had got wind of this. They informed the police and the latter arranged to carry out the raid. But a local organization objected to this and wanted to assault the driver of the police jeep. When the Hindutva activists came to know this hundreds of them gathered in front of the Mulky police station. When the situation was turning tense ACP Belliappa from Mangaluru rushed to the spot and arranged to shift the rescued cattle to the shelter at Pajir. A case has been registered against Ibrahim and Sheikabba, the owners of the abattoir. – Prajavani , 12 th . 14.6.2020. Mangaluru. A group of activists said to be from Bajrang Dal waylaid a tempo carrying four buffaloes from Jokatte to the Kudroli abattoir and assaulted the driver, Mohammed Hanif (34) of Jokatte after tying him to the vehicle.